Intratympanic gentamicin treatment of patients with Ménière's disease with normal hearing.

OBJECTIVE

Understand the safety and outcomes of intratympanic gentamicin treatment in patients with Ménière's disease with normal hearing.

STUDY

DESIGN

Case series with chart review.

SETTING

Tertiary referral center.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

A total of 224 patients with disabling Ménière's disease treated between May 1996 and June 2007 were grouped according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) 1995 Committee on Hearing and Equilibrium staging guidelines: stage 1 (<25 dB pure-tone average [PTA]); stage 2 through 4 (>25 dB PTA). Patients underwent self-treatment with intratympanic gentamicin (10 mg/mL) three times daily for one to eight weeks. Outcome measures included pre- and post-treatment speech discrimination score (SDS), PTA, electronystagmography, vertigo relief, and statistical analysis utilizing the Pearson chi(2) test.

RESULTS

Twenty-two (88%) of 24 patients with stage 1 Ménière's disease showed unchanged or improved SDS. All 24 patients showed a mean PTA loss of 8 dB. Seventeen (71%) patients reported complete or improved vertigo control. One hundred sixteen (59%) of 200 patients with stage 2 through 4 Ménière's disease showed unchanged or improved SDS. All 200 patients showed a mean PTA loss of 11 dB. One hundred forty-eight (74%) patients reported complete or improved vertigo control.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with stage 1 Ménière's disease appear to have similar vertigo control with better hearing preservation than patients with advanced disease when treated with low-dose intratympanic gentamicin (10 mg/mL).